Milk is the very first food we taste after birth. By the way, humans are the only creatures that continue to consume milk into adulthood, with the exception of cats. However, many are interested in the question: is milk a necessary food product or not? Is it necessary and can it be used throughout life? Which milk should you choose, sterilized or pasteurized? Which milk is better to prefer: cow or goat? You will learn all these questions by reading the article about the necessary food product – milk.
Whether it is necessary and whether it is possible to use milk during all life?
Milk is a necessary and very valuable food product. The proteins contained in it are so perfectly balanced that it remains nutritious for an adult, and is most often well and quickly digested. Therefore, milk is recommended primarily to those people who are sick, to maintain strength and at the same time not to spend a lot of energy on digesting food. But not all people are allowed to drink milk. First of all, this applies to those people who have an individual intolerance to milk, that is, to the lactose contained in milk. According to statistics, up to 75% of the world’s population does not digest whole milk. In Europe, for example, there are about 5% of such people, and in Africa and Asia up to 90% of the population. The reason for intolerance is the lack of the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for the breakdown of milk sugar in the body. The production of lactase decreases with age, the older a person becomes, the worse his milk is absorbed. There are isolated cases when intolerance is congenital. It turns out some dependence on milk, the less milk we drink, the worse it is digested. Let us give an example: a person who has not consumed milk for a long time will drink several glasses at once, indigestion will be guaranteed to him. If your body reacts in the same way, then try drinking milk in small sips or switching to fermented milk products – yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, kefir.

Milk contains a large amount of very valuable and essential minerals: calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur and other substances.

Raw milk, just received from a cow after milking, has bactericidal properties due to the presence of immunoglobulins and leukocytes. In fresh milk, the number of microorganisms not only does not grow, but rather decreases. However, if the cow is sick, then it may contain E. coli, dangerous to our health. And besides this, it may contain salmonella and staphylococci. Therefore, when buying homemade milk at the market, do not be lazy and be sure to boil it. With this simple method, you will prepare the product for further nutrition and protect yourself and your loved ones from infection.

Which milk is better: sterilized or pasteurized?
What is pasteurization? First of all, it is a process that allows you to destroy all pathogenic bacteria and preserves all the useful and valuable properties of milk. Initially, this method was intended to kill the tubercle bacillus, which used to be very common in milk. Milk is heated to 85 degrees and immediately cooled.

During sterilization, milk is heated to a temperature of 115 to 150 degrees and kept for 10-15 minutes. This not only changes the taste and color of milk, but also destroys some of the nutrients, alters proteins and fats.

Do you prefer cow or goat?
There is an opinion that goat’s milk, unlike cow’s milk, is less allergenic, better digested and more useful. It really is. Goat’s milk has more protein, vitamin A, calcium and, oddly enough, less cholesterol, although it is much higher in calories than cow’s milk. However, like cow’s milk, goat’s milk also contains lactose, and people suffering from intolerance to cow’s milk should be careful with goat’s.